St. Paul daily globe., 1887-07-23
The Story of the Drowning Of Edward
Lietis at Little Falls Over Thirty
Years Ago.
Ee Accepts Friends Advice to Take a
Bath, Gets Cramped and Dies
in the Water.
Lis Wife PerisheS in a Canadian HAD
House and His Children Are
Adopted by Friends.
Tie Finding Of His Petrified Remains
Brings TO Mind the Sad Story
of His Death.
Special to the Globe.

special 10 the GlOD6.
LITTLE FALLS, Minn., July 22.-In
1856 Edward Lietis was drowned in the
Mississippi river at Little Falls under
peculiarly sad circumstances. The sad
circumstances were that he left a young
widow and two small children in very
destitute condition. The wife never re-
covered from the shock and ended her
days in a Canadian mad-hOuse. The
children were adopted, taken East and
lost sight of. LietiS was a French Can
adian carpenter. who came to Little
Falls in 1854. and was esteemed by all
who knew him. He had Tut one fault,
and that was great one. He would
drink, and usually got int0Xi-
Gated. One hot summer day,
while in this condition a foolish friend
suggested that he take bath to sober
himself. After some bantering the
friend left, and Lietis proceeded to the
river for the bath, got cramped, as was
afterwards supposed. and WAS drowned,
his condition preventing him from max
ing any effort to save his life. Towards
evening his wife became alarmed at his
absence, and the joker. remembering
what he had said to LietiS, and fearing
that he had believed him, organized
party; the river was dragged all night,
and the next morning gave up its dead.
The body was found at what is now the
foot of Mill island, at 10 o'clock a. m,
already showing signs of decomposition.
1t was hastily buried on the west side
of the river. and. with the removal of
the mother to Canada and the adoption
OF the children, poor Edward LietiS was
SOON FORGOTTEN.
The great freShet which swept the
Little Falls mills away, occurred soon
after, and i'll the excitement all other
things were laid aside. Edward LietiS
remained but q memory to the oldest
settlers, and not till last Thursday was
it known to the younger generation that
such man had once existed. A large
canal is ROW being dug on the West
side for the Little Falls Water Power
company. o. l.. Workman is Superin-
tendent of teams. Thursday some of
the men digging near the bank
struck something with their ShOvelS
that gave forth sharp metallic sound.
MIR. Workman was standing near, and
having curiosity to see what the OBJ
Ject was, encouraged the WOrkmen to
dig deeper and around it. The digging
soon brought to light the petrified re
mains of a full-grOwn man about five
feet eight inches in height, and of a
blueish black hue. Nothing of clothes
or coffin remained. The corpse had an
odd gold chain ring with onyx set upon
the index finger of the right hand. The
body was rolled out on the bank by six
braWny men, and the news spread so
quickly that large crowd had soon
collected, among them many old settlers
and the joker. Inquiry soon established
the fact that Edward Lietis had been
buried at that spot. and Identification
was completed by the ring, which many
old settlers, including John Clyde, Will
lam Fuller, S. p. Butler and others.
who remembered that Edward LietiS
had been possessed of the ring and that
it had been
BURIED WITH HIM.
This being established, the body was
carried to an undertaking establishment,
where it was viewed by large crowds,
and at night doors were double locked
and every one went home to talk about
the event far into the night. The next
morning the doors were opened and the
corpse was gone. This caused still
greater excitement, but there was abSO-
lutely no clue. The only plausible So
luton is that the joker, who has been
suffering untold remOrSe for years, at
the death of his much-lOved friend. be-
cause of his foolish suggestion, organ
lied party, stole the body and hid it.
What he would gain by this is not ap-
parent, as the whole story was already
"in every ones mouth" However this
may be, such are the facts in the case
ANY incredulOuS one can have these
facts substantiated and certified to by
o. l.. Workman, S. p. Butler, William
Fuller, or John Clyde, all of whom are
old residents of the county, and whose
honesty and integrity are unimpeach-
able. An account of the drowning was
published iii the Northern Herald, Col.
French, editor, i'll 1856 Any old resi-
dent having file of the Herald for 1856
would find the facts as herein narrated,
and make the story dOubly true.